Oman Oil Company (OOC), Oman Refinery Company (ORC) and LG International of Korea signed at the Oil and Gas Ministry Tuesday a shareholders agreement for Sohar Aromatics Complex valued at US $ 956 million.

Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhi, Oil and Gas Minister and deputy chairman of OOC board signed for the OOC, while Nassir bin Khamis al-Gashmi, Oil and Gas Ministry undersecretary and chairman of ORC board and Dong Hwan Kang Executive Vice President of LG International signed for their sides.

As per the shareholders agreement, OOC owns 60% of the project and the remaining percentage is equally divided between Oman Oil Refinery and LG companies.

According to ONA, the project will begin commercial operation during the third quarter of 2008. It will produce 800.000 mtpa of para-xylene and 210.000 mtpa of benzene using naphtha produced by the Sohar Refinery Company (SRC). Para-xylene is a key raw material in the production of polyester fibers and PET plastic bottles. The second petrochemical produced on the complex is benzene which is an industrial chemical used to produce a wide range of plastic (polystyrene, nylon), detergents and other chemicals.